The reduction in water and electricity tariffs has made nonsense of the long-standing propaganda that the conditions in the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) caused the increments, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an aide to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said.
It is recalled that the Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, stated on Channel One TV’ on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 that the tariff adjustment framework was a conditionality agreed upon by the previous NPP administration as part of the International Monetary Fund programme.
“As part of the IMF arrangements that the NPP entered into, they agreed with the IMF as a conditionality for accessing about $300 million when the review that took place before we came to power was completed.
He added, “That was around December 2024, when they were going to do quarterly tariff adjustments. And in September, they will do mid adjustment, which was agreed upon by the NPP. It is cast in stone, classified, and it must also go on record, so when the NPP comes to lament the increase, they are being dubious and hypocritical. They’re not telling the truth, they agreed, we’re bound by it.”
But, following the reduction in the tariffs, as announced by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Friday, March 13, 2026, Miracles noted that among the reasons cited by the regulator for the reduction, nowhere are IMF conditionalities mentioned.
The PURC had informed consumers of electricity and water that the existing electricity and water tariffs have been reviewed downwards to take effect from April 01, 2026. According to the PURC, these adjustments have been carried out in line with the Commission’s mandate to review tariffs on a quarterly basis to reflect developments within the Quarter.
The Quarterly reviews track and incorporate movements in key factors for which their variability affects the operations of Utility Service Providers (USPs).
These factors are the exchange rate between the Ghana Cedi and the US$, domestic inflation rate, electricity generation mix, and the cost of fuel mainly natural gas to power the thermal plants.
These Quarterly adjustments are undertaken by the Commission to maintain the real value of the tariffs, which would enable the utility service providers to be financially viable to deliver on their services to consumers, while bearing in mind the impact of these tariffs on consumers in general.
“Having carefully analysed the aforementioned existing parameters, the Commission wishes to announce a downward adjustment in electricity tariffs of an average reduction of 4.81% and a 3.06% reduction in water tariffs.
“To promote green energy transition, the Commission, for the first time, has introduced a commercial Electric Vehicle (EV) charging tariff,” a statement issued by the PURC on Friday, March 13, said.
The Commission said that in its analysis, it considered the following factors;
• Ghana Cedi-US Dollar Exchange Rate
The Commission applied a projected Weighted Average Ghana Cedi-US Dollar Exchange Rate of GHS11.1931/US$1.0000 for the second Quarter of 2026.
This projected exchange rate is based on a 3-month Actual Inter-Bank Average Ghana Cedi-US Dollar Selling Exchange Rate for the period December 01, 2025 to February 28, 2026. This indicates a 6.78% reduction from the last Quarter rate of GHS12.0067/ US$1.0000.
• Inflation Rate
The Commission also used a 3-month (December 01, 2025 to February 28, 2026) average inflation rate
of 4.17% for the second quarter of 2026, which indicates a downward review of 47.87% from the previous quarter.
• Price of Natural Gas
The Commission applied a Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) price of USD8.0988/MMBtu indicating an upward adjustment of 2.84% from the previous rate of USD7.8749/MMBtu.
• Electricity Generation Mix (Hydro:Thermal Mix)
The projected hydro-thermal generation mix for the quarter under review remained the same at 20.90% from Hydro generation and 79.10% from Thermal generation as applied in the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) of 2025.
In a post on his Facebook page regarding this development, Miracles Aboagye said that “So yes, electricity tariffs have been reduced after mounting a data-driven and fact-based pressure on behalf of the People.
“With this, The People’s Forum has laid to rest the long-standing propaganda that there’s a certain IMF conditionality requiring a quarterly increase in electricity. Proven to be a bare-faced lie
- Proven that, indeed, the variables that go into the quarterly adjustments are inflation, exchange rate, energy generation mix and cost of fuel
“With these facts established, the People’s Forum will officially vide our view of the current reduction and the way forward. Amplifying the voice of the people is the work of God.”
Source: 3news.com
